April 27, 2001
PROVO, Utah - The San Diego State baseball team fell a full game behind Brigham Young in the Mountain West Conference standings after dropping a 17-5 decision to the Cougars on Friday at Larry H. Miller Field in Provo, Utah.
BYU (28-17 overall, 16-7 MWC) raced out to an 11-0 lead after three innings and rode the strong effort of starter Jeff Stearman (2-4) to cruise to the victory. SDSU (27-19 overall, 15-8 MWC) did not score and was only able to muster three hits off Stearman in the first eight innings before breaking through for five runs in the ninth.
Sophomore right-hander Rory Shortell fell to 6-2 on the year after suffering the loss for the Aztecs, allowing 12 hits and 11 runs in three innings of work.
Each BYU starter had scored at least one run by the fourth inning and all nine Cougar starters recorded at least one hit, with third baseman Kainoa Obrey leading the way with a 4-for-4 effort in which he drove in two runs and banged out two doubles. Catcher Michael Davies added a 3-for-5 performance which included a home run, three runs batted in and three runs scored.
Aztec shortstop Taber Lee was the only SDSU player with more than one hit in the contest, as he went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Left fielder Ben Leuthard hit a towering home run over the scoreboard in left field to start off a five-run ninth inning for SDSU.
The Aztecs recorded a new season high by committing seven errors in the contest.
BYU's 17 runs is the largest single-game total given up by SDSU this year and the most runs scored against the Aztecs since March 19 of last year, when SDSU allowed 21 runs to New Mexico in windy conditions in Albuquerque.
With only one regular-season meeting left between the two teams, Friday's loss ensured that the Aztecs will lose the season series to the Cougars (BYU owns a 4-1 series advantage on SDSU this year). Should the Aztecs and Cougars finish the regular season in a tie atop the Mountain West standings, BYU would enter the conference tournament played at Tony Gwynn Stadium in San Diego from May 16-19 as the number one seed.
The two teams conclude their three-game series in Provo tomorrow at 1 p.m. Mountain Time. The game can be heard live on the internet on the official site of SDSU athletics, www.goaztecs.com with Alan Horton calling the action.